Hair roller lift for straightening hair adjacent the scalp while curling the outer end portion



Sept. 26, 1967 w, MORGAN 3,343,548

HAIR ROLLER LIFTFOR STRAIGHTENING'HAIR ADJACENT THE SCALP WHILE CURLING THE OUTER END PORTION Filed Feb. ll, 1966 'Illllfli 'IIIIIIIH "IIIIIII'W 'III INVENTOR JUSTIN W. MORGAN United States Patent Q HAIR ROLLER LIFT FOR STRAIGHTENING HAIR ADJACENT THE SCALP WHILE CURLING THE OUTER END PORTION Justin W. Morgan, 925 N. Atlantic Ave., Daytona Beach, Fla. 32018 Filed Feb. 11, 1966, Ser. No. 534,614 8 Claims. (Cl. 1329) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A roller lift for effecting straightening of the hair while simultaneously supporting a roller for curling a portion thereof including a hollow body member open at pposite ends and having a longitudinal slot in the side Wall thereof extending from one open end to the other and a pair of curved grooves in the side walls at one open end.

This application is a continuation-in-part of my application Ser. No. 434,827 (now abandoned), filed Feb. 24, 1965.

The present invention relates in general to hair devices, and more particularly, to a device for use in conjunction with hair rollers to efiect a selective straightening of portions of a lock or strand of hair while permitting in conjunction with conventional hair rollers a curling to any desired strength of the remaining portion of the lock or strand of hair.

Present hair styles known as the boufr'ant styles wherein height is created in the hair style by first causing the hair to stand outwardly from the scalp and the hair'is then combed or blended into a general contour require conflicting curling operations. With these hair styles, present methods require the use of large diameter cylindrical rollers which provide the large diameter curl necessary to such hair styles to avoid the undesirable frizzy or kinky curls but do not produce a curl of lasting quality. These rollers are quite inetlicient for their intended purpose, since they represent at best, only a compromise between the conflicting requirements for the portion of the hair adjacent to the scalp, which should be straight, and that adjacent to the ends thereof, which should have a lasting curl.

In achieving height in present day hair styles it is desirable to straighten or leave straight the portion of the hair adjacent to the scalp and to curl only that portion of the hair which is adjacent the ends thereof. Curlers of conventional configuration have proven unsatisfactory for obtaining these conflicting conditions. Curlers of small diameter provide too tight a curl adjacent to the scalp, While the large diameter curlers provide too little curl adjacent to the ends of the hair. The use of the large size rollers sacrifices strength and lasting quality in the curl since the end is almost straight as it is rolled thereon; however, any reduction in the diameter of the curl results in a loss in height in the hair style.

In addition, it has been a common practice in obtaining straightness of the hair so as to achieve height in the hair style to back comb the hair or tease it by extending the hair out away from the scalp with one hand, and combing the hair toward the scalp with the other hand. However, it is well recognized that this procedure causes damage to the hair and therefore should be avoided at all costs.

The present invention serves as a means for avoiding the aforementioned difliculties and undesirable procedures by making it possible in conjunction with the conventional hair rollers to curl only the ends of the hair with the conventional roller and lift the roller away from the scalp ice with suflicient tension to cause a straightening of the hair between the curl and the scalp.

Means have been provided in the past for holding rollers away from the scalp during the setting of the hair, however, these arrangements were designed primarily as shields for the scalp preventing contact of setting solutions and waving equipment with the scalp to prevent injury thereto. In each case of these prior art arrangements, there was no recognition of the benefits which could be obtained by providing the proper tension on the hair between the curl and the scalp when straightness of the hair in this area was desired. In addition, due to the intended function of these devices as shields for the scalp, the construction prevented the application of the various waving and neutralizing solutions to the portion of the hair between the curl and the scalp to the extent necessary to permanently set the hair in the desired manner.

In avoiding the difiiculties of the prior art, the present invention not only provides a means for straightening the portion of the hair adjacent the scalp while permitting curling of the remaining portion at the ends of the hair to a desired degree of tightness, but also due to its construction permits an application of waving and neutralizing solutions and rinses to the hair without removing the curlers therefrom.

In the normal setting operation, the hair is curled rather tightly on curlers or rods and a permanent wave setting solution is applied to the hair which reorganizes the molecules of the hair so as to assume the set which is provided by the curlers. A neutralizing solution is then applied to stop further action of the setting solution; and this solution must then be thoroughly removed or rinsed from the hair so as to prevent damage thereto. With the ordinary curler, there is often difliculty in thoroughly applying the neutralizing solution or in rinsing all of the neutralizing solution from the hair without removing the curler, and so very often it is necessary to remove the curlers or rods from the hair prior to the rinsing operation and then to reset the hair with rollers prior to the drying operation in accordance with a desired hair style. However, during this removal of the curlers from the hair for purposes of rinsing the neutralizing solution therefrom, the hair is so disturbed that the organization of molecules in the hair resulting from application of the permanent wave solution is very often disturbed to a significant extent, thereby impairing the lasting qualities and strength of the wave.

The arrangement in accordance with the instant invention is therefore constructed so that it may be retained along with the rollers used therewith during application of the permanent Waving solution, the neutralizing solution, the rinse solution and during the drying operation without disturbing the hair, with the result that a more satisfactory permanent setting of the hair can be accomplished in one-half the time normally required and with a greater lasting quality in the set.

It is therefore an object of the instant invention to provide a hair setting device for use with conventional hair rollers or curlers which serves to avoid the difiiculties inherent in known devices of a similar nature.

It is another object of the instant invention to provide a device for use in conjunction with hair curlers which serves to lift the curler away from the scalp and straighten a portion of the hair adjacent to the scalp while permitting the remaining portion of the hair adjacent the end thereof to be curled with any selected degree of tightness.

It is a further object of the instant invention to provide a device for use in conjunction with hair curlers which maybe economically and simply manufactured, and capable of being associated with hair rollers or curlers of any conventional configuration.

It is still a further object of the instant invention to provide a device for use in conjunction with hair curlers or rollers having a configuration such that the device and the curler may be retained in the hair through all of the operations of permanent waving so as to eliminate any need for disturbing the hair prior to a final completion of the permanent setting operation and avoiding any possibility of damage to the hair.

These and other objects, features and advantages of the instant invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing which shows one embodiment of the instant invention, and wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a side plan view of the roller lift in accordance with the instant invention;

FIGURE 2 is a side section view of the construction illustrated in FIGURE 1; and

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of another embodiment in accordance with the instant invention.

Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference numerals have been used throughout the various views to designate corresponding parts wherever possible, and particularly to FIGURE 1, one form of the roller lift in accordance with the instant invention consists of a cylindrical body member 1 of hollow construction being entirely open at one end thereof and having a bottom portion 2 at the other end thereof including a circular aperture 3 therein which provides access to the hollow interior of the roller lift.

A pair of diametrically disposed semi-circular grooves 4 are provided in the other end of the construction with the axis of curvature thereof preferably falling at or below the extreme end of the body 1. The diameter of curvature of the grooves 4 are preferably dimensioned so that even using the largest size commercially available hair rollers a firm seating of the roller in the roller lift can be accomplished thereby preventing accidental rotation or otherwise objectionable movement of the roller with respect to the lift during the setting operation.

An opening 5 is cut into the side of the cylindrical body member 1 interconnecting one of the grooves 4 with the opening 3 in the bottom portion 2 of the body member so as to facilitate a slipping of the roller lift past the hair so that the hair may be extended through aperture 3 in the bottom of the cylindrical body member and out through the open end thereof.

A plurality of apertures 6 are additionally provided in the side wall of the cylindrical body member 1 so as to permit the free flow of air and the various solutions used in the permanent setting operation to flow freely through the roller lift construction.

The use of the roller lift construction illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 is advantageously very simple and may be associated with all conventional rollers of any size or construction. A lock of hair to be permanent waved is separated by hand and then slipped past the slot 5 in the side of the roller lift so as to extend through the aperture 3 in the bottom of the lift, axially through the cylindrical body member and out through the opposite open end thereof. The size of the lock of hair is generally selected so that the hair forming the lock occupies an area of the scalp just slightly smaller than the area of the opening 3 in the bottom of the roller lift. In this way, the hair can be pulled through the roller lift in an axial direction, and remain relatively spaced Without coming into contact with the side walls of the body member. A roller of conventional construction is then selected in accordance with the desired degree of curl which is to be set in the hair and the hair is rolled upon the roller until the roller enters into, the diametrically opposite grooves 4 in the top of the cylindrical body member. The friction of the roller with the groove 4 of the body member will then retain the roller in fixed position supported upon the roller lift properly spaced by a uniform distance determined by the distance of grooves 4 of the roller lift from the scalp.

An important feature of the invention is the straightening during the waving operation of that portion of the hair which extends from the scalp to the roller supported on the roller lift within the groove 4 thereof. In accordance with the instant invention, by applying a sufiicient degree of tension to the hair within this area by tightly rolling the roller against the roller lift within the grooves 4 thereof, a straightening of the hair can be effected during the waving operation with a high degree of lasting quality and the entire waving operation including the setting, neutralizing and rinsing can be effected without removal of the roller lift since the hair Within the roller lift is completely free of contact from any foreign devices including the cylindrical body portion of the roller lift itself which might cause damage thereto. As a result, no damage can be effected to the hair during these operations and thus the roller lift may remain in place throughout the operation.

It should be quite apparent from the above description that the relative length of the portion of the hair which is to be straightened as compared to that which is to be curled is easily determined by selecting a rollerlift of appropriate length. Since the length of the portion of hair which is straightened is equal to the distance between the bottom of the semicircular grooves 4 atone end of the roller lift and the extreme flat portion which is to be placed against the scalp at the other end thereof, an i111 crease or decrease in this distance on the roller lift will provide for a selective adjustment of the length of the hair which is to be straightened. While it is within the contemplation of the invention that one of ordinary skill in the art might provide a roller lift construction which is adjustable in length without the exerciseof invention, it is respectfully submitted that with the roller lift construc= tion illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 manufactured from eon1= mon organic plastic material, the manufacture of these, devices will be so inexpensive that different lifts of diifer= ent length can be manufactured as inexpensively, or more inexpensively, as an adjustable construction.

Such an adjustable construction might, for example, consist of cylindrical body members formed as upper and lower halves of the lift which are mounted concentrically and secured together by an integral screw thread or other adjustable securing arrangement so that the total length of the construction may be adjusted. In addition, adjustment may be effected by arranging two coaxial cylindrical parts in a telescoping manner with a suitable keying arrangement providing for locking of the telescoping parts at various extended lengths thereof. I

A second embodiment of the invention is illustrated in FIG. 3 and consists generally of a substantially parallelepiped or rectangular box-like hollow construction. The body member 10 is provided with completely open ends so as to provide for the passage of a lock of hair therethrough and the short side walls thereof are provided with grooves 12 and 14 which substantially terminate in a pair of support surfaces 12a and 14a, respectively, which serve to support a hair roller of conventional size and configuration. In addition, the side wall of the body member 10 containing the groove 12 is also provided with an extension slot 15 depending from the groove 12 so as to completely open this side of the body member permitting the passage of a lock of hair past the side wall to the interior of the lift construction.

One long side wall of the body member 10 is provided with a grill or slotted construction 16 which permits an application of rinse water to the hair during the permanent wave operation while effectively shielding the relatively delicate curls from the direct force of the water which is applied so as not to disturb the set of the hair. For this reason, the slots 12 and 14 are provided more deeply than the corresponding grooves included in the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2 wherein the rolled up hair upon the roller supported on the support surfaces 12a and 14a will sit down within the grooves 12 and 14 below the upper edge of the lengthwise side walls of the body member and will therefore be protected from direct application of force by rinse water or other solutions applied to the hair during the permanent waving operation.

During rinsing of the hair after the neutralizing solution has been applied thereto, the usual procedure is to lay the head back into a shampoo bowl and to spray the hair with water by means of a hose. However, at this stage of the wave-setting operation, the hair is very delicate and can be easily disturbed by the application of even slight pressure thereto, and so by provision of a grill or slotted construction 16 in the side of the roller lift, water can be applied to the curl from va hose through the grill construction which will supply suificient water to thoroughly rinse the hair while reducing the pressure of the water applied to the hair so as to prevent any disturbance thereto. Of course, the top end of the roller lift facing outwardly from the scalp is open; however, with the head tilted back into a shampoo bowl, it is asimple matter to direct the stream of water against the longitudinal side of the roller lift containing the grill or slotted construction 16 and avoid direct application of water through the top opening of the lift. The fact that the roller with the hair rolled thereon is supported below the upper edge of the roller lift makes it simple to avoid this direct application of water to the hair.

With an application of the various solutions used in the permanent waving process, such as the permanent waving solution, the neutralizing solution, and the rinsing solution, it is necessary to provide in this and other constructions in accordance with the instant invention a means for facilitating the free flow of fluids through the roller lift arrangement so that these fluids may be applied easily and completely to the hair and rinsed therefrom in a complete and eflicient manner. In the construction illustrated in FIG. 3, as indicated above, the grill or slotted construction 16 facilitates the application of fluids to the hair, and in order to facilitate the flow of these fluids out of the roller lift construction, an undulation in the form of a pair of grooves 17 is provided along the edge of the body construction 10 and the longitudinal side wall opposite to the grill or slotted construction 16 in the edge which is placed against the scalp. While only a pair of grooves 17 are illustrated in the drawing, it is to be understood that the undulations necessary to provide for a drainage from the interior of the lift construction may be formed of more or less grooves of different sizes and configurations without departing from the spirit and scope of the instant invention. The flow or drainage of fluids from the lift construction may also be facilitated by the provision of holes or apertures (not shown) in the side wall of the body construction 10, in the manner illustrated by apertures 6 in the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2.

It is well known by those skilled in this particular art that it is of utmost importance during the permanent waving operation that little or no contact be made with the hair to which the permanent waving solution is applied. During application of the permanent waving solution the hair becomes very delicate due to the chemical action which is effected between the solution and the hair itself such that even slight pressure applied to the hair may produce serious damage or unwanted bending or curling of the hair. For this reason, the curling arrangements of the prior art which require the use of clamping or fastening members applied directly to the hair to maintain the curl during the permanent waving operation have proven to be very unsatisfactory particularly because of the potential dangers of damage to the hair which can be caused thereby. Under ideal conditions, the hair should be curled, or straightened, as the case may be, without physical contact between the hair and any object whatsoever. However, as is quite apparent, some means must be utilized to force a curl into the hair during the application of pennanent waving solution and neutralizing solution so as to 6 effect a set in the hair. Therefore, the most etficient practical arrangement which can be hoped for is to provide for the use of simple rollers Without the need for auxiliary clamping elements to insure a maintenance of the curls during the wave setting operation.

With the roller lift construction of the instant invention, such as illustrated in FIG. 3, it is possible to roll the hair down to the point where the roller is supported upon the support surfaces 12a and 14a in the slots 12 and 14, respectively, so that a portion of the hair is stretched with tension from the scalp to the point of contact with the rollers, and the remaining hair is wound about the roller with contact being effected only between the hair and the roller upon which it is wound. The size and configuration of the roller lift is such that the hair may be stretched from the scalp to the roller without contact with the side walls of the body member 10 of the roller lift while properly spacing the hair so that little transverse pressure is applied to the hair even from the adjoining strands thereof and maintenance of this roller with tension on the hair pulled from the scalp may be insured by physically clipping or fastening the roller to the roller lift itself without effecting contact between the clamping member and the hair wound upon the roller.

In order to clamp or fasten the roller upon the roller lift without contacting the hair wound upon the roller, there is provided on the body member as an extension of the support surface 14a of the groove 14, a lip or projection 18 which communicates with an aperture 19 located beneath the projection 18 so that a pin or clip of conventional construction may be used to secure the roller to the projection 18 while the hair which is Wound upon the roller may be, due to the rectangular shape of the roller lift, effectively maintained at a distance from the projection 18 so that the clamping or securing member may be isolated therefrom. For example, if a common bobby pin is utilized as the securing member, it may be inserted around the projection 18 in the edge of the roller with one end thereof passing into the interior of the roller and the other end passing through the aperture 19 beneath the projection 18.

While I have shown and described several embodiments in accordance with the present invention, it is understood that the same is not limited thereto but is susceptible of numerous changes and modifications as known to a person skilled in the art, and I therefore do not wish to be limited to the details shown and described herein but intend to cover all such changes and modifications as are encompassed by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A roller lift for effecting straightening of the hair while simultaneously supporting a roller for curling of a portion thereof com-prising:

a hollow body member having side walls and being open at both ends thereof, the interior of said body member being entirely free of obstruction,

a pair of curved grooves within the edges of said side Walls at diametrically opposite points adjacent to one open end thereof to accommodate a roller therein, and

a longitudinal slot extending as a continuation of one of said grooves in the side wall of said body member to the other open end thereof opposite said one open end.

2. A roller lift as defined in claim 1 wherein said hollow body member is of cylindrical shape.

3. A roller lift as defined in claim 2 wherein said other open end of said body member is formed by an end wall having a circular aperture therein having a diameter only slightly smaller than the diameter of said cylindrical body member.

4. A roller lift as defined in claim 1 wherein said hollow body member is provided with a plurality of holes in the side wall thereof for purposes of facilitating the drainage of fluids therethrough.

5. A roller lift as defined in claim 1 wherein said body member is of parallelepiped configuration having a slotted grill formed in one side wall thereof over substantially the entire surface thereof.

6. A roller lift as defined in claim 5 wherein one edge of the side wall of said body member opposite to said slotted grill forming a portion of said other open end is 7 provided with an undulating configuration.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Edwards 132- 36.1 X Dwyer 132 -33 Graham 132-33 Bourland 13240 Levie 1329 X Bumgarner 132-39 FOREIGN PATENTS Austria. France. France. France. Germany. Great Britain.

RICHARD A. GAUDET, Primary Examiner;

R. L. FRINKS, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A ROLLER LIFT FOR EFFECTING STRAIGHTENING OF THE HAIR WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY SUPPORTING A ROLLER FOR CURLING OF A PORTION THEREOF COMPRISING A HOLLOW BODY MEMBER HAVING SIDE WALLS AND BEING OPEN AT BOTH ENDS THEREOF, THE INTERIOR OF SAID BODY MEMBER BEING ENTIRELY FREE OF OBSTRUCTION, A PAIR OF CURVED GROOVES WITHIN THE EDGES OF SAID SIDE WALLS AT DIAMETRICALLY OPPOSITE POINTS ADJACENT TO ONE OPEN END THEREOF TO ACCOMMODATE A ROLLER THEREIN, AND A LONGITUDINAL SLOT EXTENDING AS A CONTINUATION OF ONE OF SAID GROOVES IN THE SIDE WALL OF SAID BODY MEMBER TO THE OTHER END THEREOF OPPOSITE SAID ONE OPEN END. 